Happy New Year!

This year, resolve to update your master bedroom!

This year, instead of making that same old New Year’s resolution of losing those ten pounds or going to the health club three times a week, resolve to give your home a New Year’s face lift!

These design tips should serve you well as you move towards an updated, fresh new look for your home:

• Start a file of magazine pictures of rooms that you like.  Even if you can’t exactly pinpoint why you find a room setting so appealing, by reviewing your file, your decorator will be able to quickly understand the feel that you want for your home.

• Involve your professional decorator at the very beginning of your project.  Doing so will help you avoid the costly mistakes that many homeowners make.  The most successful decorating projects are those where the decorator and homeowner are very candid with each other regarding tastes, priorities, budget, timing and goals.

• Your first goal should be to design your home to suit the way you and your family actually live.  Analyze all the rooms of your home – are some underutilized and some just exhausted from use?  Maybe its time to relocate some activity centers and redirect some traffic patterns.

• Be realistic when determining the amount you plan to invest in the project.  If you haven’t redecorated in several years, you may need to acquaint yourself with today’s pricing to determine your budget range.

• Resist the urge to repaint your interior as the first step in your new look.  There are myriad beautiful paint colors to compliment your final fabric selections but painting your walls first will severely limit your choices in fabric selections.  Color schemes should flow smoothly from room to room, especially in the adjoining living areas.   This means some detailed attention needs to be paid early to the long range overall color plan.

• Forget matching sets of furniture and mono-chromatic “safe” schemes.  A far more interesting look is a room of complementing wood pieces and companionable fabrics in exciting complementary colors.

• Something slightly whimsical in every room will ensure that your rooms don’t take their new look too seriously.  Lamps, area rugs, candles and other accessories are all opportunities for a novel touch to keep rooms feeling light and welcoming.  Use many different textures, materials and surfaces.  Combinations of metals, woods, glass, woven reeds, fabrics, ceramics and stone will provide depth and interest to your decorative theme.

• Insist upon good lighting.  A well planned room will have lighting at varying levels and intensities appropriate to the activity of the area.  Close attention should be given especially to task lighting for activities such as reading, dining, and cooking and desk top work.

This is one New Year’s resolution that you and your family will be pleased you kept for years to come.